Amazing Arizona

April 1, 2023 - Day 1

Mile 0-15.2 (+1.9 to the Mexican border) (17.1 miles)

Wow. I love this trail. Day one and I am just head over heels. I have been walking in awe of every plant, every rock, every magnificent view. The first few miles this morning had me questioning my fitness and questioning this trail until I remembered that we are hiking at elevation, something I've never done before. Calves dropped Hambone and I off at Montezuma Pass around 10 am and we hiked the 2 miles south to tag the border. Part of "The Wall" has been built right by the border, and the AZT monument itself is behind a barbed wire fence, technically on the Mexican side. We climbed through to get a good picture, snapped some pics of some other hikers and headed back up.

We had a pretty good pace hiking back up to the parking lot, both of us feeling excited to be out there. I could feel the elevation taking its toll on me, I was gasping like a fish out of water.

It was pretty hot with no breeze but luckily the wind picked up and kept us relatively cool the rest of the day. The big 5 mile climb up Miller Peak was tough but before we knew it we were at the top facing a 1 mile snowy section that was slippery with tough footing. We post holed and slipped multiple times. The tall pines and the shade made up for it and I took sooo many pictures.

There's a good many hikers out here, two of them started today as well- Hummingbird and Locomotive. The trail down the other side of Miller was absolutely gorgeous. Huge succulent plants, golden hour rays of sunshine, amazingly graded trail. I felt like I was walking through my favorite greenhouse, except that I had shrunk and all of the plants were giant.

We were both riding a high as we descended the mountain. I smiled and giggled as Henry told me he felt like he hit the jackpot and rated me as a 10/10 girlfriend :-)

Tonight we are camping next to a beautiful flowing creek. There are a few other hikers camped about 0.1 south of us. There is some fear mongering on this trail about illegal immigrants with us being so close to the border. It's been pretty wild seeing some of the things they leave behind as well- old blankets, food stashes of canned beans and fish. People say not to hike at night, as that's when they're on the move and that they could be dangerous. As tired as I am tonight, there's no part of me that's worrying about illegal immigrants. They can run the trail all they want while I peacefully sleep curled up to my man.

Wildlife sightings: 3 bluish lizards, 1 rabbit, 1 bat